Writing content with your reader in mind
Writing SEO content can be a formulaic process.
Do your keyword research, pick a keyword, plug the keyword into an AI writing software, edit the output, publish, and repeat.
Even before AI, I would read the other content that ranked for the keyword and then basically reword the existing content and add some of my own original thoughts and commentary.
Sometimes this produces content that’s “good enough.”
If the reader is just looking for information, they at least get the information they were looking for (after sifting through the fluff).
But it’s not great. You can tell it’s written by someone who’s trying to pump out as much content as possible. It reads like a robot wrote it (which is increasingly the case).
Results:
More information in a world with too much information already
Readers doing more work than necessary to get the info they’re looking for
Writers not caring because it’s about what gets views, what makes money
A different approach
Today, I was writing a blog post, and I wondered, who’s actually going to read this?
Who are they?
I stopped typing, closed my eyes, and tried to imagine being that person. What do I want to get out of reading this? What will make my life better?
I opened up a new tab and typed out bullet points to define the reader. I gave them a name.
When I went back to writing the blog post, I thought about that person.
I wrote such that I was genuinely trying to help that person as much as I could.
I removed a bunch of unnecessary fluff.
I talked in that person's language.
Even though I made up the reader, it felt like I had a connection with them. I know there are people like the reader I imagined.
It gave my writing more meaning.
I felt like I was actually doing something good.
Writing content to help someone solve a problem in their life and make their life better, rather than just following a formula to get more views.